Since coming to Osaka, I’ve noticed that there are many sightseeing cruises here. Among them, I found one that offered a unique experience not yet known to many tourists, the Naniwa Exploration Cruise with Rakugo Comedian. They have two available courses, of which I chose the「Loop Line River Course」, seeing as the point of departure is close to Namba. The defining feature of this cruise is that the guide not only provides history and information about the various places visited, but they do it through “Rakugo”. I imagine most of you are unfamiliar with this term, so I will explain what it is shortly.

🔻Below is a picture of the boat I rode, just as it came in to dock! It was very flat!

First, I’d like to give a little explanation as to why I wanted to experience this cruise. A couple years ago, I watched a special drama called “Akamedaka.” It featured Kazunari Ninomiya, who’s a member of Arashi, the top male idol group in Japan. They talked about Rakugo comedians and there I learned that becoming one requires intense training. Because of this, I wanted to see first-hand the craft of someone who had successfully undergone this training.

Anyway, as for what Rakugo is, the word literally means “fallen words” in Japanese. An essential characteristic of the original form of Rakugo is the ochi (meaning “fall” or “drop”), which refers to a kind of punchline. The Japanese character can also be read as raku, which is how the name was derived. There are different styles, but it generally features a single performer who fulfils both or all of the roles necessary using only changes in pitch, tone, and expression. The only props used are traditionally a paper fan and a small cloth. It may seem simple at first glance, but it’s actually really deep.

Now that we have a general idea of what we’re getting, let’s go over the details of the experience.

🔻I went with a friend and started from Nishiumeda Station, so we took the Yotsubashi Line (Blue Line) to Namba Station.

🔻From Namba Station, go out through the North gate, and continue straight until you can see exit 26-C.

Take the stairs up, and keep going straight until you cross the signal.
🔻From there, you should see a bridge in front of you. Without crossing, make a left and the pier should come into view.

🔻After arriving at the pier, retrieve your tickets from this ship. (Right Photo)
(My friend and I thought maybe this was the cruise ship, but it turned out we were wrong...lol)

🔻Here is the departure point. (Bottom Left Corner)

🔻After you retrieve your ticket, you’re ready to start the adventure!
It felt a bit like we were entering a submarine.

Let’s go~
🔻The blue outlines the Loop Line course, while the pink outlines the Yumesaki course.

Our guide for the tour was Mr. Kintaro. He was wearing a yukata, which is a traditional Japanese garment similar to the kimono. (Check out the video)

We went on the cruise in December, so the weather was a bit chilly. The boat was already heated, but the staff also provided blankets, just in case we were still cold. No problems here!

Pictures and video are allowed, so feel free to use your camera as much as you like. Some seats have electrical outlets on the table so you can charge your phones and cameras too. (*Please bring adapters if needed)

🔻The blanket provided by staff (Left). The seat has electrical outlets (Right).

Throughout the cruise, we passed many bridges, some of which could only be passed by our boat. Why, you wonder? Find out in the video!

During the cruise, Mr. Kintaro introduced to us notable places along the river. Some examples include the floodgate, Kyocera Dome Osaka, Osaka Municipal Wholesale Market Honjo, Osaka City Central Public Hall in Nakanoshima, etc. These places can all be visited on foot for a closer look, but the boat cruise allows you to see them in comfort and save on time, if you’re in a rush.

🔻Kyocera Dome Osaka & Osaka City Central Public Hall

This time around, Fall had just ended when we took the tour, so we were unable to see the autumn leaves. However, we imagine it must be beautiful with all the reddish colors. For those who want to see cherry blossoms, Mr. Kintaro says that the view along the river near the Japan Mint is particularly stunning during full bloom. They have a “Special Sakura Cruise” available during the season. I’d definitely like to come back for that.

When we went, there just happened to be construction on the floodgate around the Dotonbori area that prevented us from continuing on the regular course. (We were told that it’s the most popular area on the route , so it was a bit unfortunate we couldn’t see it. However, our detour took us past the iconic Osaka Castle, so everything turned out all right.)

🔻“Special Sakura Cruise” (left picture), Dotonbori area (right picture)

As we approached the castle, we were caught by surprise. The boat had a trick up its sleeve! The entire passenger area started to rise, and the roof opened up to give us a better view of the castle! Because it was still winter, it was a little cold, but the unexpected view was great. I think this would be absolutely amazing to experience during the Spring or Fall.

🔻Osaka Castle from far away.

We were having such a good time that before we knew it, we were already back at the pier. To finish off, we took a picture with Mr. Kintaro. All in all, we made some good memories.

This was my first time seeing Rakugo first hand. As everything was in Japanese, there were parts that I couldn’t quite follow, but being able to see various sights in Osaka at the same time, made it a very fun experience and I was very satisfied with it.

For those who don’t understand Japanese, a lot of the material might be lost, but personally I thought the performance was interesting enough that it will likely get some laughs regardless.

🔻Mr. Kintaro telling us about the history of Osaka through Rakugo.

At first, I honestly thought an hour and a half boat cruise would be a little long, but after actually going, it felt like it was over in an instant. Next time, I want to learn more about Osaka so I can enjoy the cruise even more.

Ah, I almost forgot to mention! There is an option for a special (bento) lunch set. However, it needs to be ordered at least 2 days before the date of the cruise. Sadly, I didn’t know about this beforehand, so I wasn’t able to try it. It looked really good, so I definitely want to try it next time. (*The contents/ingredients of the lunch set may change depending on the time of year)

🔻Naniwa bento.